Traditions
Every Saturday night that I have the Little Man we enjoy “Movie Night”. I started this tradition a few years ago in an effort to create quality moments and memories with LM before he decided parents were the enemy. It has been a huge hit ever since. He even introduced his grandparents to the idea over the summer.
Most of the time I surprise him with my choice of movie rentals. I introduced him to the Indiana Jones series, Back to the Future, War Games and Movie Night was the original introduction to Star Wars that got LM stuck on it for life.
Movie Night is also Pizza Night. We make ours from scratch, another effort to create bonding moments that will serve not only to strengthen our relationship but also to teach my son some basic cooking skills so he can impress the chicks later in life! The Little Man has progressed from just getting drinks and napkins, to gathering the ingredients to his new position of Head Saucier. I make the dough for the crust and he works the sauce. He knows exactly what spices to use, and chooses to follow his mother and ignore basic measuring tools. He knows that we prefer to go a little heavy on the garlic, but not too much crushed red pepper. When he is finished shaking and stirring, he proclaims each and every time with all the pride of a nine year old boy, "That this is the best sauce ever!" Later, while we're eating, I will tell him how amazing the sauce is, that it is perhaps the best ever, and he will humbly declare that it must be in his genes to be such a good cook.
We make individual pizzas, each big enough for one with plenty of leftovers for Sunday lunch. He makes his with a tiny bit of ham, green pepper and pineapple. I leave off the pineapple and double up on ham. Each makes their own to their own preferences and tastes and then into the oven they go.
Both of us look forward to Movie Night all week. Sometimes we plan in advance what movie we want to rent. Often times we shop together for pizza ingredients ahead of time. Every now and then I take him out to a movie at the theatre just for something different. We enjoy our pizza and movie in our jammies, curled up on the couch together. We’ll make a little toast to a great night together, and say a prayer for all the people we love before we eat. I'll have to remind him his pizza is hot and to wait and then blow on it a little. We'll giggle and talk about the weekend and life in general. We'll do "H.A.L.T." a daily discussion of our Highs, Lows and Thanks. The dog will try to steal our napkins. Later on we will share either a bowl of popcorn or some ice cream to top off a night of indulgence. And at the end of it all, when I tuck him into bed we’ll both relish the feeling of knowing we are loved.
As we sit here tonight, smelling the great heart-warming smell of homemade pizza cooking, as I enjoy a glass of wine and he reads another chapter in his Star Wars book while we wait, I know that there is no place I would rather be on a Saturday night than right here. There is no one I would rather be spending the evening with than the love of my life. There is nothing else that heals my soul and makes the love in this house overflow than the time we spend together, side by side on the couch for Movie Night.
Most of the time I surprise him with my choice of movie rentals. I introduced him to the Indiana Jones series, Back to the Future, War Games and Movie Night was the original introduction to Star Wars that got LM stuck on it for life.
Movie Night is also Pizza Night. We make ours from scratch, another effort to create bonding moments that will serve not only to strengthen our relationship but also to teach my son some basic cooking skills so he can impress the chicks later in life! The Little Man has progressed from just getting drinks and napkins, to gathering the ingredients to his new position of Head Saucier. I make the dough for the crust and he works the sauce. He knows exactly what spices to use, and chooses to follow his mother and ignore basic measuring tools. He knows that we prefer to go a little heavy on the garlic, but not too much crushed red pepper. When he is finished shaking and stirring, he proclaims each and every time with all the pride of a nine year old boy, "That this is the best sauce ever!" Later, while we're eating, I will tell him how amazing the sauce is, that it is perhaps the best ever, and he will humbly declare that it must be in his genes to be such a good cook.
We make individual pizzas, each big enough for one with plenty of leftovers for Sunday lunch. He makes his with a tiny bit of ham, green pepper and pineapple. I leave off the pineapple and double up on ham. Each makes their own to their own preferences and tastes and then into the oven they go.
Both of us look forward to Movie Night all week. Sometimes we plan in advance what movie we want to rent. Often times we shop together for pizza ingredients ahead of time. Every now and then I take him out to a movie at the theatre just for something different. We enjoy our pizza and movie in our jammies, curled up on the couch together. We’ll make a little toast to a great night together, and say a prayer for all the people we love before we eat. I'll have to remind him his pizza is hot and to wait and then blow on it a little. We'll giggle and talk about the weekend and life in general. We'll do "H.A.L.T." a daily discussion of our Highs, Lows and Thanks. The dog will try to steal our napkins. Later on we will share either a bowl of popcorn or some ice cream to top off a night of indulgence. And at the end of it all, when I tuck him into bed we’ll both relish the feeling of knowing we are loved.
As we sit here tonight, smelling the great heart-warming smell of homemade pizza cooking, as I enjoy a glass of wine and he reads another chapter in his Star Wars book while we wait, I know that there is no place I would rather be on a Saturday night than right here. There is no one I would rather be spending the evening with than the love of my life. There is nothing else that heals my soul and makes the love in this house overflow than the time we spend together, side by side on the couch for Movie Night.
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